History of the Peloponnesian War

The Athenians attacked and tried to storm the wall; but when they found themselves targets for the missiles of large numbers of the enemy on the hill, which was steep—and of course the men up above them could reach them more easily—and were unable to force their way through, they drew back and rested.

It so happened, furthermore, that at this same time there was some thunder and rain,[*](cf. 6.70.1.) as is apt to be the case toward the fall of the year; and this caused the Athenians to be still more despondent, for they believed that all these things too were conspiring for their destruction.

While they were resting, Gylippus and the Syracusans sent a part of their army to build a wall across the line of march in their rear, at a point on the road by which they had come;

but the Athenians sent a detachment of their own men and prevented it. After that the Athenians moved their whole army back into the more level country and bivouacked. On the next day[*](Fifth day of the retreat.) they advanced again, and the Syracusans surrounded them and attacked them on every side, wounding many; if the Athenians attacked they retreated, but if they retreated they would charge, falling chiefly upon the rearmost in the hope that by routing them a few at a time they might put the whole army in a panic.

Now for a long time, fighting in this fashion, the Athenians resisted, then after they had advanced five or six stadia they rested in the plain; and the Syracusans on their part left them and went back to their own camp.

During the night, finding their army in wretched plight, since by now they were in want of all supplies and many had been wounded in many assaults made by the enemy, it was determined by Nicias and Demosthenes to kindle as many fires as possible and then withdraw the army, not now by the route which they had at first planned, but in the opposite direction to that in which the Syracusans were watching for them—that is, towards the sea.

(But previously the line of march which I have been describing had not been toward Catana,[*](ie. towards the sea.) but toward the other side of Sicily, in the direction of Camarina and Gela and the cities in that region both Hellenic and Barbarian.)